Thanks, MOS, I am glad to hear that! My first reaction was to go with replacing the radiator–easier to dry tea towels on, for one thing but underfloor warmth does sound tempting.

They also suggested insulation under the vinyl, which does sound like a good idea to me.

Maybe when it is finished there won't be a sloping floor–one inch or more from one side of the smallish kitchen to the other, but maybe there will.  And maybe there is a cellar or a hidden passage under the kitchen and maybe not. (Local stories suggest that there may be, dating back to the Napoleonic Wars or earlier.) Or maybe the walls will collapse when they take the kitchen out–who knows?

some things I have been getting up to lately

also today I have cleaned the kitchen and done some remedial tidying work in the garden (it has been neglected for a wee while).

In a minute I'll be nipping out to ikea, foolishly the Sam suggested I go on my own,so I may be some time, to get more hooks for hanging things on a bar over the work top (pan lids, funnels, measuring spoons, etc.) and to some supermarche (or archfarchnad in you're that way inclined) to get what i need for red onion marmalade (apart from the onions of course) and green tomato ketchup which shall be made when I get back. The recipes I plan to use are in the jam/preserves/chutney place,for them what asked, and I shall update with the results when I done made them.

the Sam is not being idle either, he is stripping down the buggy and filling the little holes in the bodywork from where other people over the years have decided to put things in different places (some of these holes are actually quite big, one is about 2 inches diameter, many around 1 cm.see the ease with which i flip between metric and imperial! i'm so modern and cosmopolitan). Then he'll sand and prep the whole thing for the painting. It is a lot of work. Hopefully if it doesn't rain he will make good progress  and we may get it all shiny and painted by the time we go off to the show (in three weeks we'll be there, but in two weeks we'll be in a field near Carlisle, so we're a bit pressed for time).

also this eve we are hoping to pop over that there bridge to watch the balloons glow at the Bristol international balloon fiesta and catch up with some lovely lovely friends.

that little lot should keep me out of mischief, eh?

mine is the one that is like a reverse air con unit.  It uses the differential between the inside and outside temps to run; Very very popular in new builds here in France (on my estate over half have it!) and pretty cheap to run.  The geothermic units are more complex and require a lot of flat land

Today I have washed and cooked up 3.5kg of blackberries with 2kg of apples, sieving half way through, to make 26 pots of jam!!  Rather yummy and the recipe I use always sets like stone (it is called blackberry and apple cheese on the recipe!)

Tomorrow wild plum and pear chutney!!

The rain here is coming from the NE-another very dark sky in that direction- and after being out there briefly I can testify that the rain is indeed COLD. My tiny hands are frozen.

I have managed to sneak my scissors out occasionally- but Sir has to be there to hold the laptop together, I'm hoping he will get the replacement next week as the joke is wearing thin now ( not least as he sneaks up here to use my computer instead….)!